I
had the blessing of speaking to the Rancho San Bernardino Ward today. This is
the Spanish-speaking ward in our stake. We have many long-time friends in this
ward, and we love to see them.
When
I began working in a particular dental office many years ago, the receptionist
caught me one day and asked: "So you're a Mormon?" to which I
responded affirmatively. Her follow-up question surprised me: "So is it
true that you give a tenth of your paycheck to your church?" I was happy
to answer yes, and then tell her that it was because of my faith in God and his
promises, that I considered it a blessing and not a burden. From then on, I
sensed a deep respect from her, and from the other staff members in that
office.
This
is shorter than my other talks, because I had to allow time for the translator
to speak. I appreciate good translators.
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Good
morning, brothers and sisters. I am happy to be here among friends who have
always felt like family to me. It is a blessing to be here and to worship with
you today.
I
bring you greetings from President Garvin and his counselors. They love you and
pray for you. They are grateful for your kind acts of service, and for your
faithfulness.
I
pray that the Holy Ghost will be with us as I speak so that you and I will be
blessed by the things I say and by things we feel here in sacrament meeting.
Today,
I would like to invite all of you who do not pay tithing to gain a testimony of
the law of tithing. And I would like to invite all of you who do pay your
tithing to strengthen your testimonies of this important law. I will tell you
how to gain that testimony and how to help your children and grandchildren
receive a testimony of tithing, too.
Whenever
Heavenly Father wants to bless His children, he gives them commandments. That
may sound strange. But all commandments from God have blessings attached. Each
blessing is a promise to us, as a gift for our faith and our obedience.
When
we obey each commandment, we strengthen our covenant relationship with God, and
when we do this, our love for our Heavenly Father increases.
In
Heavenly Father’s Plan for our eternal salvation and happiness, He expects us
to make sacrifices. This has been true since the days of Adam and Eve. In our
day, we covenant in the temple to sacrifice everything we have to help the work
of the Lord move forward.
Right
now, the Lord doesn’t ask for everything. We give our time as we serve in
church callings and serve each other. That is a sacrifice. We share our talents
and skills with those around us. We often think of people who can play musical
instruments or who can sing and dance as people with talent. Drawing and
painting are other talents. Another talent is teaching the gospel. You may be
thinking “I don’t have any talents like that; maybe I am not talented; I have
nothing to give.”
But
we all have talents. Some of you can cook amazing meals. Isn’t that a talent?
Some of you can make people happy with a smile or an “abrazo.” That is a
wonderful talent. Heavenly Father expects us to use these talents to bless
others. When the Relief Society President calls and asks you to bring food to a
sister who is sick, that can be a sacrifice. But we feel good when we serve,
and Heavenly Father is happy when we serve his children.
One
of the most challenging commandments is the law of tithing. Please note
that it is not a suggestion; it is a law
from God. But like all laws from God, if we obey, we will receive great
blessings. Each commandment has very specific blessings connected to it.
What
are those blessings? How will we be blessed?
Let’s
look at the law and the promised blessings.
The
law of tithing is very simple: it is that we pay 10 percent of our income to
the Lord. Please
note that the tithe is not just any freewill offering, and it is not a 20th or
some other fraction of our income.
Tithing must be done in the Lord’s way, or it
is not tithing. If I do it my own way, I will not obtain the promised
blessings.
Under
the law of tithing, we are all treated equally by the Lord. The commandment is
the same for all of us, and the blessings are the same, if we pay tithing.
The
prophet Malachi asked the question:
“Will a
man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In
tithes and offerings. …
“Bring ye
all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and
prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the
windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room
enough to receive it.
“And I
will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of
your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the
field, saith the Lord of hosts” (Mal. 3:8, 10-11).
What
is Malachi saying to us? Let’s look at the important points.
First,
why does he say that we are robbing God when we don’t pay our tithes and
offerings? Because everything we have is a gift from God. Since he has given us
everything, we can show our thanks by giving a little bit back to him.
Second,
God invites us to test him. When he invites us to prove him, he is telling us
“try it and see.” Do we have enough faith to do that? I testify that he keeps
his promises.
Third,
have you ever thought about the first part of the promise to us? The Lord has
promised to “open the windows of heaven.” I invite each of you to ponder what
that means to you. That will motivate you to act in faith.
Fourth,
the Lord promises to pour out so many blessings that we will not have room to
receive them. When we refuse to pay tithing, we are refusing those promised
blessings. I will say more about that in a minute.
Finally,
the promises in the last verse to rebuke the devourer for our sakes, and that
our crops will be healthy and productive. That image meant a great deal to
people who relied on farms and gardens. But what does it mean to us?
I
believe that rebuking the devourer means that things we rely on will last
longer. Perhaps our clothing will not wear out so quickly. Maybe we will not
need to replace things so soon. Sometimes it means that we stay healthy enough
to work. We have to look a little closer to recognize these blessings. But
please remember that when things do wear out, or when we struggle with illness
and other challenges, it does not mean that we are not faithful. Sometimes we
have trouble paying all the bills. That does not mean we are unfaithful. Throughout
our lives, the Lord will also give us tests and trials to see if we will
continue to follow him.
The
blessing of healthy crops was, and is, a blessing of prosperity. We are
promised that if we pay our tithing, we will prosper.
President
Hinckley spoke of this when he told the Filipino saints: “The Lord will keep
His ancient promise in [your] behalf, and [you] will have rice in [your] bowls
and clothing on [your] backs and shelter over [your] heads.”
He
told another group of members: “Some of you have money problems. I know that.
There is never enough money in your homes. I know that. You are struggling to
get along. What is the cure? The only thing I know of is payment of tithing.
Now, that doesn’t mean that you will have a Cadillac and a mansion. But it was
God who made the promise that He would open the windows of heaven and pour down
blessings upon those who walked honestly with Him in the payment of their
tithes and offerings, and He has the capacity to keep His promise. It is my
testimony that He does keep that promise”
It
is important to remember that prosperity is not just about money and
possessions. Prosperity is also about our spiritual health: about having firm
testimonies of the Savior and of his gospel, and the power to live the gospel
and to inspire our families to follow Christ. To have that strength is to
prosper.
Most
important is that we cannot enjoy the blessings of the temple unless we pay
tithing. If I do not pay a full tithe, I will not lose my membership in the
Church, but I will lose the blessings that Heavenly Father has promised me. And
that includes the promise of an eternal family.
Sister
Stevenson and I have been married almost 35 years. During that time we have
always paid a full tithe. At times we struggled, but when we look back on those
35 years, we realize that we have always had a place to live; we certainly have
not starved; I have always had a job, and I almost never take sick days. This
is how we have been blessed by paying tithing. I do not say this to boast, but
to express gratitude to Heavenly Father.
We
also have the blessing to pay fast offerings every month. These consecrated
funds bless members in our own wards and stake. Bishop De La Roca is blessed
with the inspiration to use these sacred funds wisely. In addition to the
blessings of paying tithing, we have been promised blessings of increased love
and spirituality when we pay fast offerings.
We
also have the opportunity to contribute to the missionary fund, to temple
building, to helping with disasters, and to spreading the Book of Mormon. Each
of these brings wonderful blessings as well. We must use wisdom in our
contributions, but we know that what we give the Lord will be used
appropriately.
The
Lord doesn’t expect us to give everything we have, but he does expect us to do
what we can.
Let
me return to my invitation at the beginning of my talk. How can we receive a
testimony of the law of tithing?
We
receive it the same way we receive a testimony of any of God’s commandments: by
keeping the commandment. We will receive a witness by paying tithing; by
accepting the Lord’s promise and testing it.
In
answering a challenge from the Pharisees, Jesus said,
“My
doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me.
“If any
man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or
whether I speak of myself” (John 7:16,17).
If we
obey the law of tithing, we will gain a testimony of it.
Heavenly
Father is not weak like we are. He keeps His promises.
At this point, I shared my testimony in Spanish,
because I love my Spanish-speaking brothers and sisters. I believe that this
helps them to feel that. If there are any accent marks missing, please forgive
me.
Hermanos
y hermanas, yo testifico que la ley del diezmo es de Díos. Cuando pagamos el
diezmo, recibimos bendiciones de nuestro Padre Celestial. Yo sé que es un
principio verdadero. No pagamos el diezmo porque temenos dinero; pagamos porque
tienen fé. Cuando guardamos los mandamientos, seremos bendecidos.
Yo
testifico que Díos vive. Él nos ama. Jesucristo es nuestro Salvador y redentor.
Hermanos
y hermanas, les amo a ustedes. Doy gracias por la oportunidad de visitar con
ustedes.
En
el nombre sagrado de Jesucristo, amen.
